Keeble



Dec. 8, 1964 D. KEEBLE 3,160,180

MACHINE FOR SECURING TOGETHER THE END TURNS 0F UPHOLSTERY SPRINGS sSheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 21, 1959 D. KEEBLE MACHINE FOR SECURINGTOGETHER THE END TURNS OF UPHOLSTERY SPRINGS Dec. 8, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed April 21, 1959 Dec. 8, 1964 D. KEEBLE 7 3,160,180

MACHINE FOR SECURING TOGETHER THE END TURNS OF UPHOLSTERY SPRINGS FiledApril 21, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig? Figs- @Ww d United States Patent3,16tl,18 MACE-ENE FGR SEQURHNG TOGETHER THE ENE TUR 61F UPHGLhTERYSPRENGS David Keeble, 39 Bridle Road, Bramcotc, England Filed Apr. 21,1959, Ser. No. $97,347 7 Claims. (Ql. hid- 4%) This invention relates toimprovements in the construction of spring assemblies for the interiorof mattresses or cushions and machine for use in producing the same andits object is to provide a spring assembly which is easy to produce andwhich is durable in use.

According to this invention a spring assembly for the interior of amattress or cushion comprises a plurality of spaced rows of upholsterysprings, the end turns of the springs in each row overlapping the endturns of the adjacent springs in the row and the overlapping end turnsbeing secured together by tie wires which extend across the rows and areformed with V shaped loops therein and have the arms of the V shapedloops wrapped round the end turns of two upholstery springs at thespaced points where they cross each other. The V shaped loops areoft-set from the remainder of the tie wire and the ends of the arms ofthe loops where they join the oil-set parts are bent to form hooks whichengage with the end turn of one spring. The parts of the tie wires whichextend across between the rows may be crimped to provide some resiliencyin the tie wires. To wrap the loops. round the springs the end turns arecentrally disposed in a rotatable member having a radial slot therein.The tie Wire is also placed in position with the loop ends hooked roundone end turn and the other ends of the off-set parts resting on theother end turn and the loop disposed in the radial slot in the rotatablemember. The end turns of the springs and the tie wire are held inposition by suitable clamping means and the rotatable member turned therequired number of times to wrap the loop round the end turns centrallydisposed in the rotatable member. A number of rotatable members may bearranged side by side and operated together. They are disposed adistance apart equal to the distance between the rows of upholsterysprings so that the end turns of two springs in each row are tiedtogether at the same time.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan and FIG. 2 a side elevation of part of a springassembly constructed according to this invention.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation and FIG. 4 a front elevation of one of the Vshaped loops formed in the tie wires.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation and FIG. 6 a plan of the mechanism forwrapping the V shaped loops of the tie wires round the end turns of twoadjacent upholstery springs.

FIG. 7 is a sectional elevation on the line AA of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a sectional elevation on the line BB of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is a side View of the wrapping wheel shown detached and drawn toa larger scale and FIG. 10 is a plan on a reduced scale showing amachine having a plurality of heads for wrapping the V shaped loops inthe tie wires in a number of rows of upholstery springs at the sametime.

Like numerals indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

In carrying out this invention the spring assembly is formed from aplurality of rows of upholstery springs, the rows being spaced asuitable distance apart. The

end turns 10 of the springs in each row are secured to the end turns ofthe springs on each side thereof and this is eifected by tie wires 11which extend across the rows as shown in FIG..1and which not only securethe end turns of two adjacent springs in each row together but also holdthe rows of springs in spaced relationship. In order to hold the endturns 10 of two adjacent springs together the tie wires are formed withV shaped loops 12 therein which are shaped as shown in FIG. 4. Thedistance between the loops 12 is equal to the distance between the rowsof springs. The loops 1?; are off-set from the remainder of the tie wire11 as shown in FIG. 3 and where the ends of the arms of the V shapedloops 12 join the oflf-set parts of the tie wire 11, the arms are bentto form a hook shaped part 13*(see FIG. 3) at the open end of the loops.This hooked shaped part 13 is made a suitable size to fit round the endturn of one sprang and after the end turn of the adjacent spring hasbeen placed in position with the oil-set parts resting on the end turnthe loop 12 is wrapped round both end turns to secure them together asshown in FIG. 1. The tie wires 11 extend across the rows of springs andeach loop 12 secures together at spaced points the end turns of twosprings in the respective rows. A cross wire to form a stuffing edge maybe secured across the ends of the spring assembly in a similar manner tothat described by the use of a tie wire having suitably disposed loopstherein which are wrapped round the end turns of the end springs and thecross wire forming the stuiiing edge. The cross wire forming thestufiing edge lies in the hook shaped part 13 at the open end of theloops 12. The parts of the tie wires extending across between the rowsof springs may be crimped to provide some resiliency in the tie wires.

The end turns 19 of the upholstery springs overlap each other slightlyas shown in FIG. 1 and the V shaped loops 12 are shaped so that the armsof the loops l2 wrap round the end turns it) of the upholstery springsat the spaced points where they cross each other as shown in FIG. 1.

In order to wrap the loops 12 round the end turns It and assist in theconstruction of the spring assembly, loop wrapping mechanism isprovided. Preferably a wrapping head shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 is providedfor each row of upholstery springs in the assembly and springs in eachrow are placed in position in each head, together with the tie wire andall the heads operated together. Each wrapping head comprises arotatable member 14 shown detached in FIG. 9 having a radial slot 15therein. The rotatable member 14- is carried by hearings in plates 16,17 mounted on a base plate 13. When the rotatable member A, isstationary the radial slot 15 is vertical as shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 andwhen in this position end the turns 19 of two upholstery springs areplaced in the slot 15 together with the tie wire ill. The hook shapedparts 13 in the tie wire is hooked round one end turn it and the otherends of the off-set parts rest on the other end turn (see FIG. 6) andthe remainder of the loop 12 lives vertically in the radial slot 15 liesvertically in the radial slot 15. The end turns ill of the two springsrest in grooves 19, 20 (see FIG. 10) provided for the purpose in thebase plate 1% and when in position in the grooves the end turns areoppositely disposed and lie in a plane passing through the axis ofrotation of the rotatable member. When the end turns Ill) of the springsand the tie wire 11 have been placed in position they are securely heldby suitable clamping means. The clamping means may comprise a splitslide on each side of the rotatable member, the slides being movedtowards the springs to hold them J) in the grooves; The slides are splitor made in two parts so that the tie wire can lie between the two partsand the two parts are slidingly mounted so that as they move intoposition to engage with the end turns of the springs they also: movetowards'each other and grip the tie wire.

Preferably the clamping means comprises two slides 21, 22 mounted one'on each side of the rotatable member and held in position by guides 23,24 mountedon the base plate 13. The slides 21, 22 are withdrawn againstthe action of springs 25 whilst the end turns of the upholstery springsand tie Wire are placed in position in' the rotatable manner and arethen released and are advanced over the end turns of the upholsterysprings and tiewire into the position shown in FIG. 6 by the springs 25and hold the end turns and tie wire whilst the wrapping operation takesplace. Whilst the end turns of the upholstery springs and the tie wireare being place din position in the slot in the rotatable member 14 theslides 21, 22 are held retracted, that is in the position shown in FIG.10 by means of a releasable catch 26 which engages in recesses 27provided for the purpose in the slides 21, 22. The catch 26 is movedinto its operative position by a spring 28 and when the end turns of theupholstery springs and tie wire are in the correct position the slides21, 22 are released to hold them by pressing downwards the knob 29 onthe catch 26. This can readily be done by the palm of the right hand ofthe machine operator whilst the fingers of both hands are holding theupholstery springs and tie wire in position.

After the end turns of the springs and tire wire have been placed inposition and clamped, the rotatable member 14 is turned the requirednumber of times to wrap the loop 12 located in the radial slot 15 roundthe end [turns of the two springs. It will be seen that during thewrapping operation the off-set parts take the twisting strain so thatthe wire extending across between the rows is free from any twistingstrain and a tight wrap is obtained. In order to rotate the rotatablemember 14 it is formed with teeth on its periphery and is connectedthrough a suitable gear train with a motor driven shaft. The member 14is driven by two pinions 30', 31 which mesh with a pinion 32 on a shaft33. The pinion 32 is driven by a pinion 34 on a motor driven shaft 35.Half the teeth on the pinion 34 are removed so that the wrappingmechanism stands during half a revolution of the shaft 35. The wrappingmotion is completed during half a revolution of the shaft 35 and duringthe other half revolution the clamping slides are withdrawn to aninoperative position so that the springs now secured together by the tieWire can be lifted out of the slot 15 in the rotatable member 14. Inorder to withdraw the slides 21, 22 they are formed with abutments 36 intheir undersides which are engaged at the appropriate time by a cam 37on a shaft 38 which is driven from the shaft 35 by a chain 39 andsprockets 4h, 41 on the respective shafts. cam 37 they are held in aretracted position by the catch 26 engaging in the recesses 27 untilreleased as previously described. The rotatable member 14 is preferablyarranged to make two complete revolutions and is stopped in its initialposition. The shaft 33 makes one revolution whilst the rotatable member14 makes two revolutions and the locating means for the member 14comprises a disc 42 on the shaft 33, the disc 42 having a recess in itsperiphery which is engaged by a spring loaded detent 43 to hold therotatable member in its correct position when stationary. The detent 43is carried by an eccentric pin 44 which can be turned to raise or lowerthe detent 43 and provide an adjustment for the correct setting of therotatable member 14 when at rest. The shaft 35 is driven through aclutch controlled by a lever which is moved to engage the clutch andheld in the clutch engaging position until the rotatable member has madethe required number of revolutions, that is one revolution of When theslides 21, 22 are withdrawn by the.

4 the shaft 35 when the clutch lever is released so that the rotatablemember stops with the radial slot in its initial position for theremoval of the end turns after being secured together. In order to liftthe wrapped end turns of the upholstery springs out of the radial slot15 in the rotatable member 14 each head is provided with a pivotedlifting plate 45 which is raised at the appropriate time by a pin 46which engages under the plate 45 and rests on a bar 47 which extendsacross all the heads and is raised to raise all the lifting plates 45 sothat the spring assembly can be moved back for the next wrappingoperation to be carried out. The wrapping heads are arranged in front ofa table 48 (see FIG. 10) which supports the spring assembly as itincreases in size.

A wrapping head such as described is provided for each row of springs inthe spring assembly. The heads are mounted side by side on a suitableframe and the rotatable members driven from a common shaft. A slidecommon to all the heads may be provided and operated by a lever arrangedso that movement of the slide in one direction causes the clampingslides to exert additional pressure on the end turns during the wrappingoperation whilst movement of the slide in the opposite direction holdsthe clamping slides retracted whilst the wrapped turns are removed.

The end turns of the springs in each row are secured together insuccession to form the rows, the wrapping operation in each row beingcarried out at the same time and after securing together the springs ineach row at one end the assembly is turned over and the springs in eachrow are secured together at their other ends in a similar manner.

In the apparatus described the wrapping heads tie the bottom end turnsof the springs together and after tying together all the bottom endturns in each row the spring assembly is turned over so that what werepreviously the top end turns of the springs now become the bottom endturns and can be tied together as previously described. In order thatthe top and bottom turns of the springs can be tied together at the sametime a second wrapping head is provided for each row. This second orupper wrapping head is similar in construction and operation to thewrapping head previously described but is inverted so that the upper endturns of two springs may be placed in position in the head together withthe tie wire. Spring clips or fingers or any other convenient means areprovided to hold the tie wires in position whilst the upper end turn ofthe second spring is placed in position in the upper head. When this hasbeen done the clamping slides are released and the end turns and tiewire are held by the clamping slides. After the wrapping operation hastaken place the pivoted plates 45 are operated to move the end turnsclear of the wrapping heads so that the spring assembly can be pushedback and the end turns located in the wrapping heads ready for the nextwrapping operation. Alternatively provision may be made to raise theupper wrapping head after each wrapping operation. Upper and lowerwrapping heads are preferably provided for each row of springs in thespring assembly so thatthe wrapping operation is carried out at theupper and lower ends of the springs in each row at the same time".

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for securing together the end turns of upholsterysprings, a rotatable member carried on bearings in side plates, a baseto support the side plates, grooves in the base to receive the end turnsof two upholstery springs and position them in the radial slot, clampingslides on the base to hold the end turns of the springs and a transversetie wire placed in the radial slot, a releasable catch to hold theclamping slides in an inoperative position, springs to advance theclamping slides into operative position when the catch is released,teeth on the rotatable member, gears to drive the rotatable member froma shaft, a motor, a clutch to couple the motor to the shaft, and meansto operate the clutch to turn the rotatable member and wrap an or-setloop in the tie wire round the end turns of the springs.

2. In a machine for securing together the end turns of upholsterysprings according to claim 1, means to check the rotatable member in itsinitial position after a wrapping operation, and means to return theclamping slides to their inoperative positions.

3. In a machine for securing together the end turns of two upholsterysprings, a rotatable member carried in bearings in side plates, a radialslot in the rotatable member, a bed plate, grooves in the bed plate toreceive the end turns of two upholstery springs, clamping slides at theside of the side plates movable into overlying relation to said bedplate groove to hold the end turns and a transverse tie wire, means toturn the rotatable member to wrap a loop in the tie Wire round the endturns of the spring, means to automatically release the clamping slidesafter the wrapping operation, and means to raise the end turns out ofthe radial slot after the release of the clamping slides.

4. in a machine for securing together the end turns of uphol terysprings, a plurality of rotatable members carried in bearings in sideplates mounted in spaced relationship on a bed, radial slots in therotatable members disposed in line, grooves in the bed to locate the endturns of two upholstery springs in each radial slot, clamping slides onthe bed at the side of each side plate movable into overlying relationto respective ones of the grooves to hold the end turns of theupholstery springs and a transverse tie wire in position in the radialgrooves, means to turn all the rotatable members simultaneously to wraploops in the tie wire aroun the end turns in each radial groove, meansto stop the rotatable members in their initial position after a wrappingoperation, means to automatically withdraw the clamping slides to aninoper ative position after a Wrapping operation, and means to lift thewrapped end turns out of the radial slots.

5. In a machine for securing together the end turns of upholsterysprings according to claim 4, clamping slides held in an inoperativeposition by releasable catches, and springs to advance the slides intooperative position when the catches are released.

6. In a machine for securing togetr er the end turns of upholsterysprings utilizing a transverse tie Wire and of the type incorporating aslotted rotatable tie wire receiving member, a bed plate, said bed platehaving a longi tudinal slot therethrough, transversely extending arcuategrooves in said base on opposite sides of said slot for receiving andpositioning end turns of two upholstery springs in overlapping relation,spaced side plates carried by said bed plate on opposite sides of saidbed plate slot, bearings carried by said side plates mounting saidrotatable tie wire receiving member for rotation and within said bedplate slot, notches in said side plates aligned with said rotatable tiewire receiving member and said bed plate grooves for receiving end turnsof two upholstery springs and a tie wire, a slide type clamp resting onsaid bed plate and having legs disposed alongside said plates, meansengaging said legs and preventing upward movement of said legs away fromsaid bed plate, spring means engaging said clamp and urging said legs topositions overlying the grooves to hold spring end turns and a tie wireagainst vertical movement during a tying operation, catch meansengageable with said clamp to retain said legs in retracted positions topermit the positioning of springs and a tie wire, and automaticoperating means including means for twisting an intermediate part of atie rod a predetermined number of turns, and means for automaticallyretracting said clamp to a catch retained position after the terminationof the tie wire twisting operation.

' 7. In a machine for securing together the end turns of upholsterysprings utilizing a transverse tie Wire and of the type incorporating aslotted rotatable tie wire receiving member, a bed plate, said bed platehaving a longitudinal slot therethrough, transversely extending arcuategrooves in said base on opposite sides of said slot for receiving andpositioning end turns of two upholstery springs in overlapping relation,spaced side plates carried by said bed plate on opposite sides of saidbed plate slot, bearings carried by said side plates mounting saidrotatable tie wire receiving member for rotation and Within said bedplate slot, notches in said side plates aligned with said rotatable tiewire receiving member and said bed plate grooves for receiving end turnsof two upholstery springs and a tie wire, a slide type clamp resting onsaid bed plate and having legs disposed alongside said side plates,means engaging said legs and preventing upward movement of said legsaway from said bed plate, spring means engaging said clamp and urgingsaid legs to positions overlying the grooves to hold spring end turnsand a tie wire against vertical movement during a tying operation, astripper plate overlying said bed plate'outwardly of and below said bedplate grooves and in position for underlying portions of end turns ofsprings, means pivotally mounting said stripper plate for upwardswinging movement, and means for effecting the upward swinging of saidstripper plate.

References fitted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. IN A MACHINE FOR SECURING TOGETHER THE END TURNS OF UPHOLSTERYSPRINGS, A ROTATABLE MEMBER CARRIED ON BEARINGS IN SIDE PLATES, A BASETO SUPPORT THE SIDE PLATES, GROOVES IN THE BASE TO RECEIVE THE END TURNSOF TWO UPHOLSTERY SPRINGS AND POSITION THEM IN THE RADIAL SLOT, CLAMPINGSLIDES ON THE BASE TO HOLD THE END TURNS OF THE SPRINGS AND A TRANSVERSETIE WIRE PLACED IN THE RADIAL SLOT, A RELEASABLE CATCH TO HOLD THECLAMPING SLIDES IN AN INOPERATIVE POSITION, SPRINGS TO ADVANCE THECLAMPING SLIDES INTO OPERATIVE POSITION WHEN THE CATCH IS RELEASED,TEETH ON THE ROTATABLE MEMBER, GEARS TO DRIVE THE ROTATABLE MEMBER FROMA SHAFT, A MOTOR, A CLUTCH TO COUPLE THE